WISE – The UVA Wise baseball team (1-1, 0-0 SAC) rallied from down five runs in the second game against Shepherd (1-1, 0-0 PSAC) to split the season-opening double header with the Rams.
Game 1: Shepherd def. UVA Wise 7-2
The opening game on the new turf at Stallard Field saw plenty of offense in the early innings.
Shepherd got on the board with a three-run first inning but the Cavs responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
Junior shortstop Nick Badgett led the game off by reaching on a throwing error. He was moved over to second on a ground out from sophomore outfielder DJ Dickson. Then, junior outfielder Justin Reed ripped a double in the left centerfield gap to score Badgett.
Reed would advance to third later on a ground out before being brought home by junior outfielder Matt Frye to make it a 3-2 game after one inning.
That would be the only scoring the Cavs would get the entire game as Shepherd scored a single run in the second, third, sixth and seventh innings to pull away.
The Rams' scoring was highlighted by a deep home run to center field from senior outfielder Idris Carter.
Game 2: UVA Wise def. Shepherd 8-7
The Cavs struck first blood in the second game as senior first baseman Cole Harness roped a line-drive home run over the right field wall to give the Cavs a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Shepherd didn't wait long to respond. In the next half inning, the Rams put up six runs thanks in part to a grand slam from redshirt junior outfielder Wyatt Miles.
The 6-1 Shepherd lead would not hold for very long.
After junior catcher Evan Stanley reached via a single, Shepherd pitcher Daniel Quintana answered the bell by getting two quick outs. Quintana, nearly out of the inning, had Reed on the rope facing a two-strike count. However, Reed belted a two-run home run to left field to cut into the lead and make it 6-3.
Before the Cavs could even finish celebrating, Harness struck gold again. Harness' second home run of the day came one pitch after Reed's and it was a no-doubt shot to right field that bounced onto the adjacent Darden drive and into the brush.
Harness danced his way back to a jubilant dugout. Last season, Harness mashed 14 home runs for the Cavs, the third most ever in a single season in UVA Wise history. He entered the 2024 campaign with 49 home runs, just 13 shy of the all-time Cavalier career home run record. He only needs 12 more home runs this season to break the record.
The back-to-back blasts from Reed and Harness still only made it a 6-4 game after three innings.
It wasn't until the fifth inning would the Cavs score again, but they did it in bunches. Stanley was the lead off base runner in the inning after getting hit by a pitch. Badgett and Dickson battled for long at bats but were unsuccessful in reaching the base paths, thus leaving Reed at the plate facing two outs.
Reed dribbled a sharp single up the middle to put runners on the corners for Harness. Rather than face Harness' power a third time, Shepherd head coach Matt McCarty elected to intentionally walk the slugger, loading the bases and moving the Cavalier tying run into scoring position.
Frye made McCarty's decision a costly one as he lined a two-out, two-run single to left field just two pitches later to tie the game at 6-6.
Moments later, Harness, standing at third, watched a pitch from sophomore Brayden Stottlemyer ricochet past the catcher to the backstop. Harness raced home and slid feet first into the plate to secure the 7-6 Cavalier lead
Still with two outs, the Cavs would bring home another run to another hit batter and consecutive walks from Stottlemyer. They headed into the sixth inning with an 8-6 lead.
Both teams put up zeroes in the sixth, leaving Shepherd one final shot to tie or take the lead in the scheduled final seventh inning of game two.
Against senior pitcher Hunter Anderson, Ram senior outfielder Corey Jamison launched a lead off home run to right field to breathe life into Shepherd. Jamison's solo shot made it an 8-7 game.
Anderson, after giving up the home run, shut down the Rams' momentum with a strikeout against redshirt junior outfielder Sam Daggers. Anderson would get the next hitter to ground out.
The last hope for Shepherd was Carter, the player who hit the deepest home run of the day to center field back in game one. In a 3-2 count, Anderson got the power hitter to swing and miss and end the game in favor of the Cavs, 8-7.
–
UVA Wise and Shepherd are right back at it with another double header on Sunday, Feb. 4. Both games will be seven innings, and game one is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. with game two following around 3 p.m.
